


pull the strings you need

by evanescent



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Fluff, M/M, gratuitous library make-outs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-20
Updated: 2014-04-20
Packaged: 2018-01-20 04:19:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1496413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evanescent/pseuds/evanescent
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Firstly, I had a chess rematch to win. And just then, <i>maybe</i>, I wanted to make out.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	pull the strings you need

_[then]_

"And, a checkmate."

"No fucking way."

Imayoshi’s lips curve into a lenient smile. “You’re so blunt.”

It’s spring; petals of cherry blossom are flying around them and Hanamiya finds it annoying. Whose dumb idea it was to plant cherry blossom trees outside schools, anyway. On the top of that, he’s just lost a game and it’s all kinds of frustrating. The chessboard looks like a mess of a battlefield at his side, only not that bloody.

Then again, he isn’t sure what he expected. He called out _Imayoshi_ after all.

"Anyhow, you did well," Imayoshi just states a fact. "And I heard you challenged Hirato the other day and won. That’s quite something." He comments after a moment, "But you have some boldness in yourself, defying your senpais like this."

Hanamiya looks up and grins. “Losing is no fun, but trampling on tough players is satisfying.” As they speak, he’s skipping English, but that’s not really a problem for him. The school year has just started and this teacher’s class is extremely boring, anyway. “So, what brought me down?” he asks, partly reluctant, partly curious.

Imayoshi stares at the chessboard for a moment — at least, that’s how it seems, it’s hard to tell, with those freaky eyes of his — and says, “You’re intelligent, you know that. In a way people hate because it makes you the actual smart person in a room.”

"Tell me more, senpai." Imayoshi is one of these people Hanamiya calls _senpai_ and means it, more or less. Is it respect or admiration, it’s hard to say; he just knows he wouldn’t like to get into Imayoshi’s way without a solid reason, not quite yet, anyway. (Hanamiya briefly realizes this feeling can be called “fear” and he almost chuckles, because _really_.)

"Don’t get ahead of yourself, kid." Imayoshi reaches out and flickers him in the forehead. It makes Hanamiya scowl and he calls out, angrily, "Hey, what the hell!"

"You can read people," the boy in glasses continues, "but it works both ways. And as for now," he lazily lifts his sharp gaze to meet Hanamiya’s, "you’re still too damn easy to read."

Hanamiya opens his mouth to say something (it probably wouldn’t be too kind, as he guesses), but Imayoshi is quicker. “Don’t argue with me on this,” he insists, putting a finger on Hanamiya’s lips. “Your senpai is right. Once you work on it, we can play a rematch.”

"You shouldn’t put your fingers near other people’s mouth," Hanamiya says, hating the fact his cheeks are bright red because he _knows_ they are. He bats Imayoshi’s hand away. “One day you may end up missing a finger or two.”

"Aw, that’s harsh, Mako-chan."

"And I told you not to call me this."

Imayoshi just gives a quiet laugh and picks up his bag from the ground. ”As you wish, my dear kouhai.” Among many things Hanamiya hates about his senpai, one of them is that it’s been a year and he still isn’t quite sure when Imayoshi is being serious and when he is just teasing him. He doesn’t like not knowing. “We have the first practice this year in the afternoon,” Imayoshi reminds him. “Try not to be late, would you?”

"Maybe," Hanamiya answers, smirking. It makes Imayoshi look back at him as he pushes up his glasses, looking thoughtful and creepy.

"You may want to start thinking twice about things you say to your captain," he says simply. And just before he walks away, he adds, with a trace of slight smile in his voice, "And don’t skip Makishima-sensei classes. As flattered I am by the fact you would rather spend your time with me, I don’t want to see your grades drop. I have too much fun with our little competition."

Hanamiya doesn’t ask how he knows; he isn’t surprised, to be honest. “As if I would let such thing to happen,” he calls, folding his arms. “I’m so going to beat you this year.”

Imayoshi waves his hand at him, not turning back, and says, “I will be glad to see you try, Mako-chan.” Hanamiya just groans to himself.

 _Middle school crushes are the worst_ , he thinks.

…

_[now]_

The lights in the library are becoming dim or he’s just very tired, Imayoshi can’t tell for sure. Probably it’s the latter. He leans back in the chair and stretches his legs, letting the pencil fall out of his hand on the pile of notes. The oncoming exams aren’t that much of trouble, but he would prefer to be done with them already. The waiting was making him a bit impatient.

Speaking of waiting… He checks his phone, but no new message has arrived. He huffs; the library is closing soon, what the hell is Makoto thinking, Imayoshi isn’t going to wait for him who knows how long. Hanamiya may be one of a very few people who remain in his life for a period longer than attending the same school or basketball team — and it _is_ something; everyone comes and goes, no one staying for long enough to make a difference, no one but Hanamiya, out of all people — but it doesn’t give him a permission to hover, whatsoever.

Imayoshi takes off his glasses to clear them, contemplating for a moment about things he could have been doing now, like playing a match at the Winter Cup, perhaps. This kind of thinking is pointless at this time, so he quietly walks away from those thoughts, focusing on the stillness around him. He can hear the scratching of pencils in the distance, the rustle of paper pages being turned now and then, the crack the librarian’s heels make when walking over parts of the floor not covered by carpets.

It’s all still to him, until it isn’t.

Hanamiya’s approach is quiet and has nice timing, Imayoshi senses him just before he feels tapping of fingers on his shoulder and hears — sounding almost honest — insincere, “Sorry it took me so long.”

"No, you’re not." Imayoshi smirks and puts his glasses back on, watching as Hanamiya lazily takes the seat across him. "But what manners, could have fooled me if I didn’t know better."

"Aw, I feel like you don’t give me enough credit." Hanamiya curves up his lips. "Bad boys are ‘specially charming. Though it’s dull." He looks at the notes and comments, "Just like this shit. You’re too smart for the other people’s good, the exams will be a piece of cake."

"I suppose," he agrees. "Now, you kind of reminded me about middle school and our everlasting rivalry on the field of exam results." Imayoshi takes his pencil and starts spinning, knowing it’s going to irritate Hanamiya along with the thing he has to say. "You were quite close to winning over me more times than it would be acceptable." 

As expected, Hanamiya winces and shots him an angry look. Imayoshi enjoys it for a moment and eventually lets it go

"So, why do I have the pleasure of your wonderful company? That text of yours was out of nowhere."

"Well, you brought it up yourself at this point." Makoto recovers with a sly smile. "I have something more interesting to occupy your time," he states and puts on the table a chessboard, something Imayoshi notices he brought with himself just now. As he squints his eyes even more than usually, Hanamiya snorts. "Don’t you tell me you forgot about our rematch."

"Not that I forgot, but why now, out of all times?"

This question gets Bad Boy to look all kinds of viciously. “Because I feel like I can’t lose.”

"Really?" Imayoshi huffs. "Well, if that’s the case, maybe I should back off?"

"Pinky promise not to crush you tragically." Hanamiya thinks of it for a moment, and teases, "Well, not _too_ tragically, anyway.”

Shoving his notes into the bag, Imayoshi replies, “How can I say “no” to such unique kindness coming from you?” He pulls up the sleeves of his sweater, says, “Let’s get started. I’m playing the white ones.”

_—half of hour later—_

"Well, well."

It’s actually the opposite of that, but Imayoshi is known for keeping the face, so. He can predict a checkmate in four moves and he knows Hanamiya can see it too. That’s probably why he’s grinning like a wicked mastermind he is. Imayoshi doesn’t like to lose, but he recognizes a lost cause when he sees one.

"Seems like you really are at roll now," he comments, moving his bishop and trying to make it harder for his opponent, despite the inevitable outcome. "How fortunate."

Hanamiya sets his left elbow on the table, resting his chin on his palm in a lazy manner. “Ah, you know me, Shouichi.” He makes one of his final moves. “It’s hard to stop me once I’m settled.”

"That’s the thing with spiders, isn’t it?"

They play for a few more moments in silence, until Hanamiya’s checkmate. Imayoshi lets out a soft sigh and says, “It’s your win this time. Enjoy while it lasts.” He looks straight at Hanamiya and can’t help but add, “Still, you didn’t listen to me. Your poker face is kinda shitty. You wouldn’t stand a chance if we played cards.”

That makes Hanamiya huff. “I’m not _that_ brash, you know.”

They stare at each other across the table and really — Makoto is shit at these things. Imayoshi isn’t surprised at all when he knocks off the pieces from the board and leans into his direction.

Just as Hanamiya’s lips are to violently meet his, Imayoshi speaks up, teasingly, “Lame.”

He freezes, bent across the table, and snaps, “What?”

"This abrupt and dramatic knocking the pieces over. Are we in some bad romantic movie?" He raises one eyebrow. "If you wanted to make out somewhere in public, you should have said that straight away. It’s not like we haven’t done it before."

"Shut up," Hanamiya tells him, getting flustered. Imayoshi thinks it looks kind of adorable. "Firstly, I had a chess rematch to win."

"There, you succeeded."

"And just then, _maybe_ , I wanted to make out.”

Imayoshi chuckles. “Very well,” he says and lets Hanamiya to pull him into a kiss. To think, it’s rather abrupt meeting of lips and tongues, but neither of them minds.

Not long later, the librarian is scandalized to find them doing what they were doing and Imayoshi blames it on Hanamiya as they pretty much get kicked out on the street this evening.

"I’ll probably be banned for a century from coming here," he states a fact, a little disappointed. "And it was my favourite library."

"Guilty, but not sorry," Hanamiya responds with a lazy smirk.

They walk together back to the centre; then Imayoshi comes up with an excellent idea. “I know how you can make it up to me.”

"How’s that so?"

"Oh, I’ve been thinking poker," he says smoothly, trying not to enjoy it too much, but fails. "Strip poker, actually."

Expression on Hanamiya’s face is worth getting kicked out of another ten libraries.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm laughing because this is actually my first fic for knb, it just has been stuck in my drafts, unedited, since the very beginning of February, hence silliness and cliches. Not enough of fics for these two, though. I do enjoy writing their softer side.


End file.
